In recent years, electric connectors having numerous terminals are being used in the field of automobiles and the like, and are continually become more and more advanced. With an electric connector having numerous terminals, a large force is necessary to mate together connectors and release the connection. Therefore, in the field of automobiles and the like, a lever-type connector to mate with and release from a mating connector utilizing effect of boosting by a lever is used.
With a lever-type connector, mating with and releasing from a mating connector is carried out by rotation of the lever; wherein by setting the lever to a mating position, mating with the mating connector is completed. Here, with a lever-type connector, a lock is provided for preventing rotation of a lever that has reached the mating position towards a release position. Therefore, with the lever-type connector having been mated with the mating connector, connection with the mating connector is maintained by the lock, which prevents rotation of the lever that has reached the mating position towards the release position.
However, with the lever-type connector having been mated with the mating connector, there are situations where a lock of the lever, which is locked by the lock, is unintentionally released due to an external force applied to the lock. Moreover, with the lever-type connector, there are situations where the mating with the mating connector becomes incomplete once the lock of the lever locked by the lock is released.
Therefore, conventionally, a lever-type connector with a configuration that prevents the lock of the lever locked by the lock from being released unintentionally has been developed.
Conventionally, a lever-type connector shown in FIG. 14, for example, is well-known as a lever-type connector with a configuration that prevents the lock of the lever locked by the lock from being released unintentionally has been developed.
The lever-type connector 100 shown in FIG. 14 includes a connector housing 110, a lever 120, and a wire cover 130. The lever 120 is attached and rotatable relative to the connector housing 110, while the wire cover 130 is attached on a rear side of the connector housing 110.
The lever 120 has a pair of assembly legs 121 and a connecting part 122 for connecting the assembly legs 121 to each other. A cam groove 123, which leads in and pushes out a cam pin 120 on a mating connector 200, is provided on either of the assembly legs 121, respectively. A lock claw 124 is provided on the connecting part 122 and latches to a locking piece 111 provided on the connector housing 110. A release operation part 125 is provided on the end of the lock claw 124.
An erroneous release preventing part 131 formed expanding toward the rear is provided on the rear surface of the wire cover 130.
With the lever-type connector 100, the cam grooves 123 of both of the assembly legs 121 lead in the respective cam pins 210 of the mating connector 200 by rotating the lever 120 toward the mating position. Then, with the lever-type connector 100, the lock claw 124 of the connecting part 122 is latched onto the locking piece 111 of the connector housing 110 by positioning the lever 120 at the mating position, thereby completing mating with the mating connector 200.
With the lever-type connector 100 having been mated with the mating connector 200, it is difficult to exert an external force on the release operation part 125 of the lock claw 124 due to the erroneous release preventing part 131 of the wire cover 130. With the lever-type connector 100, this prevents latching of the lock claw 124 of the lever 120 onto the locking piece 111, which is on the connector housing 110, from being released unintentionally due to external force.
Generally, a lever-type connector for automobiles is assembled at a wiring harness manufacturer, and is delivered to an automobile manufacturer from the wiring harness manufacturer upon completion of assembly. At the car manufacturer, to which the lever-type connector has been delivered, the lever-type connector is loaded onto an automobile as well as mated with a mating connector in a vehicle assembly step.
Here, when mating the lever-type connector with the mating connector in the vehicle assembly step, temporary mating with the mating connector is necessary with the lever of the lever-type connector positioned at the release position. As a result, it is preferable for the automobile manufacturer that the lever of the lever-type connector is delivered from the wiring harness manufacturer with it set to the release position.
However, with the lever-type connector having the lever positioned at the release position, the end of the lever protrudes toward the outside of the wire cover. As a result, if the lever-type connector is transported in a state where the lever is positioned at the release position, the lever may be damaged due to external force impact during transportation. Particularly, with a lever-type connector having numerous terminals, an effect of boosting by a lever is increased by enlarging the lever since reactive force developed when mating with the mating connector increases. As a result, if the lever-type connector formed is transported in a state where the lever is positioned at the release position, damage of the lever due to impact during transportation more easily occurs.
Accordingly, in general, the lever-type connector is delivered to the automobile manufacturer in a state where the lever is positioned at the mating position and the lever is locked by the lock. Moreover, when mating the lever-type connector with the mating connector in the vehicle assembly step, temporary mating with the mating connector is then carried out after the lock is released and the lever is rotated until the release position.
However, the lever-type connector 100 shown in FIG. 14 has a configuration with which it is difficult to exert external force on the release operation part 125 of the lock claw 124 on the lever 120. Accordingly, with the lever-type connector 100, there is a problem of decrease in work efficiency since it takes time for a worker to release the latch of the lock claw 124 of the lever 120 on the locking piece 111 that is on the connector housing 110. In addition, with the lever-type connector 100, there is a problem where the lock claw 124 or the locking piece 111 is damaged when the worker releases the latch of the lock claw 124 on the locking piece 111 that is on the connector housing 110.